Rory McIlroy shoots 5-under 65 at Genesis Scottish Open, first round since U.S. Open

Three minutes after Bryson DeChambeau converted the up-and-down of his life to hand Rory McIlroy one of the worst losses of his, McIlroy wasn’t ready to talk. He wasn’t ready to do much else but drive through the Carolina Sandhills and try to forget, if only for a few moments, what just happened.

Three days after, walking through the streets of Manhattan, McIlroy had begun to reconcile. Time helps sew the wounds of agony, and McIlroy fled to New York City to allow himself time to heal. McIlroy pulled more positives from the defeat with every passing moment.

Three weeks after the U.S. Open, McIlroy had his first chance at redemption – his opening opportunity to shed the disappointment and start anew. He was happy with the result. McIlroy shot 5-under 65 in the opening round of his title defense at the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, one back of the early leaders.

“I'm not going to let three or four holes cloud my judgment in terms of how good I'm playing,” McIlroy said, referencing the closing finish at Pinehurst No. 2. “I knew to play the golf that I did the whole way through June, it wasn't just the U.S. Open. I played well at the Canadian Open and at the Memorial before that even and PGA and Quail Hollow.

“My game has been in good shape and it was in good shape coming in here. It's just a matter of going out there and focusing on the task at hand and not letting your mind wander too much. I felt like I did a good job of that today.”

McIlroy has been in this spot before. He’s taken some of the toughest moments of his career and used it as fuel. He was the favorite to win the 2011 Masters through three days but famously shot a final-round 80 to fall out of contention. Two months later, he won the U.S. Open by eight shots. He was overtaken in the final round of The Open Championship 2022 as he failed to make any putts while Cameron Smith surged past him. A month later, he won the FedExCup. He agonizingly lost the 2023 U.S. Open to Wyndham Clark by a shot, then won the Genesis Scottish less than a month later.

Yet questions have risen about whether McIlroy could do it again. Sure, he’s done it before, but the U.S. Open was arguably the toughest of any of those defeats. McIlroy was about 7 feet away from his elusive fifth major. The missed 2 ½ footer on the 16th and 4-footer on the 18th are putts many golfers never return from.

Those questions don’t go away with one round. Scars of that severity don’t heal quickly. And McIlroy won’t be satisfied until he’s holding a trophy, preferably a major. That’s all McIlroy has left to prove at this point in his career. He’s accomplished everything over the last decade besides ending the major drought. With that context, Thursday was nothing more than a beginning – an epilogue to what McIlroy hopes is a riveting tale of his resilience over the next two weeks in Scotland.

It was an encouraging introduction nonetheless. McIlroy birdied his opening hole, the 10th, and traded a few more birdies for a couple of bogeys to make the turn in 1-under. The same stellar ball-striking that McIlroy displayed at Pinehurst was present at The Renaissance Club. McIlroy converted a short birdie putt on the first hole, chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 second and holed another 10-foot birdie on the fourth. His 65 could have easily been 63. McIlroy missed two birdie putts inside 10 feet on the fifth and sixth holes.

“Overall, a good start,” McIlroy said. “Especially after sort of the scrappy start over the first six or seven holes.

“It was a nice reintroduction to competitive golf and nice to be inside the ropes again for sure.”

We won’t know how much scar tissue McIlroy still holds until he’s in contention on the back nine of a final round. Memories from Pinehurst will surely creep in. How will McIlroy respond then? Those answers will come in time. If Thursday’s any indication, they will come in short order.